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Mary’s to ban smoking on weekends

Party monster and ginger haven Mary’s is the latest gay Atlanta bar to curtail smoking. It’s true, puff queens, you are being pushed outside on the weekends.

Mary’s announced the change on Tuesday. Beginning April 1, some 15 years of free rein smoking in the East Atlanta bar comes to a close. For now, just on the weekends. How’s that for one of the best gay bars in America?

Changes to Mary’s Smoking Policy

Beginning April 1st Mary’s will be NON-SMOKING on Friday & Saturdays (and certain special events during the week).

For the past fifteen years, Mary’s has enjoyed an outsized reputation as a friendly, fun-loving atmosphere with some of the most diverse, off-beat, and interesting people you’ll meet in Atlanta. You have many choices where you spend your hard-earned money, and we always want you to feel like that Mary’s is the place you want to spend it.

As many of you know, we have for some time been trying to find a reasonable solution to accommodate smokers and non-smokers in the bar. The truth is that is there really is no amount of smoke cleaning machines that could make any substantial difference in the unusual size space we call home. And while some of us that work at Mary’s are smokers too, the truth is that far less people smoke these days than when Mary’s opened fifteen years ago. We have always said that we would welcome a (reasonable) state law that removed the question of indoor smoking altogether, provided it did not create unreasonable distance requirements from the entrance doors. But another legislative season has gone by with no changes, and so we have decided to make changes to our policy instead.

Starting April 1st, we are going to be smoke-free indoors during the weekend and, as we already do, during special events. Since we are not a large space, it is pretty easy for smokers to slip right outside the front door or onto the back patio for a cigarette—it’s just mostly a change of habit. For now, during the usually less-crowded weeknights, we will not be enforcing a non-smoking policy.

Now, a change like this may take a little time for everyone to get used to. We’d really appreciate everyone being patient as people adjust to the change. We’ll have reminder signs up, so if you see someone light up on the weekend, just be cool and let a bartender or bar back remind them of the policy.

Again, we appreciate the business of all of our customers, and we do not take it for granted. We have always welcomed everyone to our bar and will continue to do so. If you have stopped coming to Mary’s over the years because you felt like it was too smoky, we’ll hope you’ll come visit us again. And if you are a smoker that comes to Mary’s today, don’t worry—half of us will be out back having a smoke with you.

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